A wide variety of electrical connectors are known to provide electrical contact between power supplies and electrical devices. Connectors typically include prong type terminals, generally referred to as plugs, and female connectors designed for receiving the prong type terminals, generally referred to as receptacles, often described as electrical outlets, or simply outlets. The most common types of outlets include a pair of terminal contacts that receive the prongs of a plug that are coupled to “hot” and “neutral” conductors. Further, outlets may include a terminal contact that receives a ground prong of a plug. A variety of standards have been developed for outlets in various regions of the world.
Regardless of the standard at issue, the design of the aforementioned most common plug and receptacle system generally incorporates a friction only means of securing the two in the mated position. The frictional coefficient varies depending on a variety of conditions, including, but not limited to, manufacturing processes, foreign materials acting as lubricants, and wear and distortion of the assemblies. This characteristic results in a non-secure means of interconnecting AC power between two devices. It is arguably the weakest link in the power delivery system to electrical or electronic devices utilizing the system. However, it has been adopted worldwide as a standard, and is used primarily due to low cost of manufacture, ease of quality control during manufacture, and efficient use of space for the power delivery it is intended to perform.
The primary limitation of this connection technique is simply the friction fit component. In some applications where the continuity of power may be critical, such as data or medical applications, a technique to secure the mated connection may be desirable to improve the reliability. This may especially be true in mechanically active locations, such as where vibration is present, or where external activity may cause the cords attached to the plugs and receptacles to be mechanically deflected or strained in any manner.
It is against this background that the locking electrical receptacle of the present invention has been developed.